Late season deer hunting may be the best of the year

For a lot of Alabama hunters, the deer season doesn't even start until the New Year's celebrations are just a pleasant memory. That may be particularly true this year, when an incredible acorn crop across much of the northern part of the state has limited deer movement and kept harvest low.

But things are about to change. In much of the state the "rut" or mating season doesn't get started until the first strong moon phase in January. For those who seek big bucks it's the only time of year worth being in the

Frank SargeantThis buck is working a "tickling branch" overhead after pawing in a scrape, part of the rutting ritual that takes place in late winter.

woods; the odds of seeing a trophy-quality deer increase dramatically as hormones drive the dominant males to stay on the move almost around the clock.

Radio-tracking studies have repeatedly shown that adult bucks become almost entirely nocturnal during hunting season--except when the rut gets rolling. Then, they get stupid and may go roaming at high noon.

Dominant bucks stake out a home territory during the rut, marking the terrain with scrapes in the dirt and antler "tickling" stations overhead. These locations let does in estrus know that they're around, and also warn other bucks to stay clear. The dominant bucks make a circuit of their scrapes several times daily during the peak of the rut.

Scrapes can be anywhere, but frequently they are on an edge where agricultural fields meet hardwood forests, along little-traveled jeep trails through hardwoods, along creek edges, and of course on heavily used deer trails.

In a well-populated woods, there may be dozens of these scrapes, and the key to successful hunting is to sit over one that is "live" or in use. You can tell from the fresh scrapes, foot prints and urine in the dirt, plus newly broken twigs overhead, when you find a hot scrape.

It's not uncommon for a buck to bed close enough to his scrape line that he can hear any sounds that come from the area, so getting in and getting set in silence can be critical. If you carry in a portable stand and make a lot of racket going up a tree, you may well be alerting the buck that you're there. A better plan is to set up a ladder stand in advance, walk in silently before first light, get up the tree as quietly as possible, and settle down to wait him out.

Whitetails have an amazing sense of smell, so placing the stand downwind from the area in which you expect the deer to appear is very important. It's also wise to put it well away from any scrape or trail, but with a clear shooting lane to the likely travel path.

While the vast majority of deer hunters limit their time in the woods from just before dawn until about 10 a.m. and then again from 3 p.m. until dark, for those who truly want a trophy, an all-day sit is a much better plan. Particularly in the rut, bucks may walk at any time of day.

There's also the "man-drive" phenomenon; when other hunters start climbing down and walking out, they frequently start deer moving, and the hunter who stays put gets a shot. Take a comfortable butt-pad, plenty of food and water, and plan to make a day of it; your odds of success will go up dramatically.

Bucks sometimes make a lot of noise when fighting or tending does, but unless you're in an area where the deer are thick and other hunters are rare, it's usually best to keep your silence. Rattling with real or artificial horns to imitate the sound of bucks fighting can work incredibly well in some areas like the big, deer-rich ranches of South Texas, but used on public lands in North Alabama, all it usually does is scare deer into the next county.

Alabama's season for antlered deer continues statewide through Jan. 31.

HUNTING SAFELY

The biggest danger to hunters is not from their rifles, but from their tree-stands. Falling out of the stand causes dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries nationwide every year. The Tree Stand Manufacturers' Association offers a full list of cautions at their website, www.tmastands.com.